RAIPUR: Shanti Bai Marawi(33), a resident of Bhedrapani village in Gaurella under the Korba Lok Sabha seat, fighting as an independent candidate, has gained fame as ‘zero balance’ as she has no money in her bank account. Her story also shows the beauty of Indian democracy that any eligible citizen, from the wealthiest to those possessing the fewest assets, can contest the Lok Sabha or state Assembly polls.
Belonging to the Baiga community, Shanti decided to contest the parliamentary polls with a ‘grievance’ that no political parties listened to them. Her husband, Ram Kumar, encouraged Shanti to fight the elections. They were “unhappy” as neither their issues were heard nor developments seen in the region.
They somehow arranged ~12,500 required as a security deposit, which is half the amount earmarked for the candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe) to contest the elections.
“Besides our savings earned as farm labourers, we got some financial support from our community members and collected ~12,500”, her husband revealed.
A fifth class pass, Shanti said, “I am contesting keeping in mind the interest of my community. The inhabitants of my village, besides the adjoining 10-12 habitats having Baiga tribal population in the Gaurella Pendra Marwahi district, have pledged to drum up support for me. My fight is with political heavyweights like BJP’s Saroj Pandey and Congress’ Jyotsana Mahant”.
A housewife and a mother of one, she helps her husband in his agriculture field and works as a farm labourer.
Her village is distantly located in a terrain over 30 km from the district headquarters and inaccessible. Broken roads lead to her dwelling, with hardly any public transport bus or local transport facility.
Shanti’s immediate aim is to change the face of her area, where the Baiga community has lived for decades. She is not a novice to what the elections are, as a few years ago, she contested for the post of sarpanch but lost.
She was informed by the local administration that ~ 2,000 had been deposited in her other bank account by the state government under the state BJP regime’s Mahtari Vandan Yojana. The instalments of Rs 1000 each for two months (February-March) under the scheme were transferred to her other account. A review of an affidavit showed the family had assets worth Rs 97,000.